Statewide directories for [[Portal:Nebraska|Nebraska]] were published periodically from 1882 to 1917. The 1886 directory was the first to list farmers in addition to businesses. It was compiled from the agricultural schedule of the 1885 census, and thus it is a partial index to that census (see the [[Nebraska Census|Census]] article). The directories have been microfilmed and are available for purchase from the Nebraska State Historical Society.

The Family History Library has a copy of the 1878 business directory of cities, towns, and forts along the railroads of Nebraska, Colorado, and Utah (Family History Library film [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=51112&disp=Wolfe%27s+mercantile+guide%2C+gazetteer%%20%20&columns=*,0,0 1004514 item 3]).

+

__TOC__

−

Directories of heads of households have been published for the major cities. For example, the Family History Library has directories for:

+

== Record Synopsis ==

−

=== Omaha ===

+

A directory is defined as a “book containing names, addresses, and occupations of inhabitants.” It may also be “any list or compilation, usually in book or pamphlet form, of persons, professional organizations, firms or corporations.”<ref>Henry Campbell Black, ''Black’s Law Dictionary: Definitions of the Terms and Phrases of American and English Jurisprudence, Ancient and Modern'', 5th ed. (St. Paul, Minnesota: West Publishing Co., 1979), 415, “directory.”</ref> Several types of directories have been published in the United States over the last two hundred years including: city directories, telephone directories, county and regional business directories, professional, organizational, and religious directories, post office directories, and street directories. Directories have tremendous value to genealogists as both an original record and as a reference aid.

−

{| class="plain FCK__ShowTableBorders"

+

The sections below provide information about Nebraska directories. For further information about directories in general, see [[United States Directories]].

−

|-

+

−

| 1866-1935

+

−

| Family History Library [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=545787&disp=Omaha+(Nebraska)+city+directories%20%20&columns=*,0,0 film 1377220]—&nbsp;

+

−

|-

+

−

| 1941, 1959, etc.

+

−

| Family History Library [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=803044&disp=Omaha+(Douglas+County%2C+Nebraska)+c%20%20&columns=*,0,0 book 978.2254/O1 E4p]

Statewide directories for Nebraska were published periodically from 1882 to 1917. The 1886 directory was the first to list farmers in addition to businesses. It was compiled from the agricultural schedule of the 1885 census, and thus it is a partial index to that census (see the [[Nebraska Census|Census]] article). The directories have been microfilmed and are available for purchase from the Nebraska State Historical Society.

−

| Family History Library film [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=13000&disp=Lincoln+%28Lancaster+County%2C+Nebr%2E%2%20%20&columns=*,0,0 1035751 item 10]

+

−

|-

+

==== Online Resources ====

−

| 1940, 1960, etc.

+

−

| Family History Library [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=13000&disp=Lincoln+%28Lancaster+County%2C+Nebr%2E%2%20%20&columns=*,0,0 book 978.2293/L1 E4p; film 1320578 item 2]&nbsp;

*[http://www.distantcousin.com/Directories/NV/ Distant Cousin.com] has a 1914 Omaha, Nebraksa city directory.

−

<!-- Tidy found serious XHTML errors -->

+

*[http://www.uscitydirectories.com/ne.htm US City Directories] identifies printed, microfilmed, and online directories and their repositories.

−

[[Category:Nebraska]]

+

+

==== The Family History Library (FHL) ====

+

+

The Family History Library has an excellent collection&nbsp;of Nebraska city directories on microfilm up through 1935.&nbsp;The cities of Beatrice, Hasting, Kearney, Lincoln, Norfolk, and Omaha are well represented. The&nbsp;Library&nbsp;also has&nbsp;printed directories for some select Nebraska cities that range from the 1950s to the 1990s.

+

+

To find out what records are available at the&nbsp;Library,&nbsp;do a "Place-names" seach in the [https://familysearch.org/#form=catalog Family History Library Catalog]. Search for:

+

+

:Nebraska - Directories

+

:Nebraska, [County] - Directories

+

:Nebraska, [County], [City] - Directories

+

+

== Libraries, Archives and Societies ==

+

+

"Most libraries, historical societies, and archives at the state level have fairly extensive collections of in-state directories and may also have directories from major out-of-state&nbsp;cities."<ref>Remington, Gordon L., "Directories," in Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, editors, ''The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy'', 3rd ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2006), chap. 8, p. 327.</ref> The [http://www.nebraskahistory.org/index.shtml Nebraska Historical Society] has one of the finest collections of Nebraska directories in the state. The [http://www.nesgs.org/ Nebraska State Genealogical Society's] book library housed at the [http://www.beatrice.ne.gov/library/online_catalog.htm Beatrice Public Library] has a&nbsp;great collection of Nebraska and Kansas directories.

Contents

Record Synopsis

A directory is defined as a “book containing names, addresses, and occupations of inhabitants.” It may also be “any list or compilation, usually in book or pamphlet form, of persons, professional organizations, firms or corporations.”[1] Several types of directories have been published in the United States over the last two hundred years including: city directories, telephone directories, county and regional business directories, professional, organizational, and religious directories, post office directories, and street directories. Directories have tremendous value to genealogists as both an original record and as a reference aid.

The sections below provide information about Nebraska directories. For further information about directories in general, see United States Directories.

City Directories

Statewide directories for Nebraska were published periodically from 1882 to 1917. The 1886 directory was the first to list farmers in addition to businesses. It was compiled from the agricultural schedule of the 1885 census, and thus it is a partial index to that census (see the Census article). The directories have been microfilmed and are available for purchase from the Nebraska State Historical Society.

Online Resources

Ancestry.com ($) has Nebraska directories in their U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 collection. The following cities are currently included: Beatrice, Columbus, Fremont, Hastings, Kearney, Lexington, Lincoln, Norfolk, North Platte, Omaha, Scotts Bluff, and York.

US City Directories identifies printed, microfilmed, and online directories and their repositories.

The Family History Library (FHL)

The Family History Library has an excellent collection of Nebraska city directories on microfilm up through 1935. The cities of Beatrice, Hasting, Kearney, Lincoln, Norfolk, and Omaha are well represented. The Library also has printed directories for some select Nebraska cities that range from the 1950s to the 1990s.

Libraries, Archives and Societies

"Most libraries, historical societies, and archives at the state level have fairly extensive collections of in-state directories and may also have directories from major out-of-state cities."[2] The Nebraska Historical Society has one of the finest collections of Nebraska directories in the state. The Nebraska State Genealogical Society's book library housed at the Beatrice Public Library has a great collection of Nebraska and Kansas directories.

References

↑ Henry Campbell Black, Black’s Law Dictionary: Definitions of the Terms and Phrases of American and English Jurisprudence, Ancient and Modern, 5th ed. (St. Paul, Minnesota: West Publishing Co., 1979), 415, “directory.”